Perdido Key Drive is the artery. If you’re staying in a condo, you’re staying somewhere on it. If you’re driving from Pensacola to Orange Beach, you’re driving it. The character of the road shifts every mile or so — from the Pensacola-side wedge of restaurants and the state park entrance, through the dense condo middle (Phoenix this, Phoenix that), out to the quieter west end where the houses get smaller and the sky gets bigger.
The locals’ move is to stay off the Drive during peak hours in March and April. The tourists’ move is to figure out which end they want and pick a side to stay on, because crossing the Drive on foot in summer is an event.
Look for: the Sandshaker (oldest bar on the Drive, “Birthplace of the Bushwacker”), Hub Stacey’s at the end of the Pier, Crabs (the one with the steps, not the one in the strip mall — long story), the Crab Trap. The state park is at the end and you should go.
